Transparency is incredibly important to us.
We love speaking to our customers about our handmade textiles!
These conversations have given us really helpful insights into the questions our prospective customers are asking….so we thought it would be useful to pull them together in this FAQs blogpost.
First things first – what does ‘Khushi Kantha’ mean?
‘Kantha’ (which translates as “stitched cloth”) refers to the Bengali tradition of repurposing old cotton saris to create ultra-soft, multi-layered blankets, especially for babies.
The traditional embroidery stitch that is applied over the top is known as ‘kantha’ stitch.
‘Kantha’ can also simply mean ‘blanket’.
‘Khushi’ is the Bengali term for ‘happy’ – ‘Khushi Kantha’ therefore means ‘Happy Blanket’.
We've now expanded our range of handmade textiles - but our Happy Blankets remain our signature product :)
Are the products made from vintage saris?
No – we’re regenerating the traditional ‘kantha’ technique to meet global hygiene and safety standards, while retaining the principles of reclaim-repurpose-reuse and bringing the cultural heritage of Bangladesh to a wider audience.
You can learn more about this journey
here.
All of our handmade textiles are made from reclaimed and ethically-produced cotton.
What do you mean by ‘reclaimed and ethically produced’ cotton?
Our handmade textiles are created from multiple layers of 100% cotton fabric:
The outside layers are made from traditional handloom fabric, hand-crafted by artisans and dyed using
Oeko-Tex Eco Passport certified, colourfast dyes. You can learn more about this
here.
We’re partnering with sustainability-minded members of the Bangladeshi garments industry to breathe new life into ‘deadstock’ cotton fabric, by upcycling it as the inside layers of our blankets. You can learn more about our ‘search for deadstock fabric’
here.
Is the cotton organic?
The traditional handloom fabric that forms the outside layers of a Khushi Kantha is not organic.We will be exploring this possibility in the future, but our
fabric supplier does not use organic cotton.
The donated ‘deadstock’ cotton fabric we use comes from a
GOTS-certified factory.
I found
this article explaining some of the key sustainable textiles standards in ‘plain language’ really useful – it helped me understand the differences and similarities between Better Cotton, organic, GOTs, BlueSign and the various OEKO-TEK standards.
What do you mean when you say your products are 'handmade'?
All of our textiles are very much handmade with love.
Our signature Happy Blankets take up to twenty hours to hand-stitch.
And kantha is not the only handmade textile tradition Bangladeshi is famous for – the handloom fabric we use for the outside layers of our blankets is also handmade by artisans 😊
How do I know Happy Blankets are safe for little ones?
Our
Happy Blankets are safety-tested against
BS EN 16779‑1:2018, which is the British and European safety standard for cot duvets, quilts and coverlet.
Because the blankets are made from multiple layers of fabric switched together, they are technically classed as quilts.
We’re using the term ‘blankets’ because they’re designed to be use in the way you would expect to use a baby or toddler blanket….. and we’ve learnt that ‘baby blanket’ is a more commonly used (and searched-for term!) than ‘baby quilt’, and we need all the help we can get to get as many eyes on our blankets as possible, as we have zero marketing budget 😊
The fabric we use in all our products has been safety tested to ensure that it does not contain any harmful chemicals, and our
doll bedding has been safety tested against BS EN71-1: Mechanical and Physical Properties, BS EN71-2: Flammability and BS EN71-3: Migration of Certain Elements, and CA/CE marked.
If you have any more question about safety, please
contact us. For example, someone suggested we should add ‘loop labels’, to make hanging up your Khushi Kantha easier – but these are not actually allowed under the safety standard we have to comply with.
How thick is a Happy Blanket?
Our Happy Blankets are made from four layers of breathable 100% cotton.
Their TOG rating is 1.0.
We’re ultimately planning to offer different thickness options, but we’re trying to start simple and learn as we go along!
Can the products go in the washing machine?
Yes! We recommend that you gentle wash our handmade textiles at 30 degrees with similar colours
What about the tumble dryer?
As a social enterprise, protecting the environment is a core part of our mission.
As such, we don’t recommend that you tumble dryer our products – or dry-clean them.
How are the products packaged?
Every single product has a label featuring the hand-stitched name of the artisan who made it, and comes packaged in its own re-usable drawstring bag, hand-crafted from a vintage sari offcut.
Yes - that means you get a FREE upcycled sari gift bag with every purchase!
Our packaging inserts provide care instructions and explain our social enterprise story.
The inserts for our Happy Blankets include the photo and story of the mother who made your specific blanket.
Are there different designs?
Khushi Kantha’s designs represent a cultural fusion, combining traditional Bengali ‘kantha’ stitching and animal motifs with geometric patterns and a contemporary colour palette.
We offer four embroidery options, named after some of our favourite parts of North-West Bangladesh:
Can I choose the colours?
Yes - we offer bespoke versions of all our products!
Our colourway options are named after the mothers who stitch our blankets and their children.
Our signature Happy Blankets - and most of our other handmade textiles - are a different colour on each side – so it’s like getting two blankets in one!
But we can use the same colours on both sides if you prefer.
Do you offer personalisation?
Yes – we offer personalised versions of our Happy Blankets, tote bags and cushion covers!
We’ve debated this issue….as some of our potential customers have pointed out, personalisation seems to go against our sustainable ethos, because ‘it means our Happy Blankets can’t be passed down, from child to child.’
Ultimately, however, it is our customers’ decision whether they would be happy to re-use a blanket for a new child that has the name of an older sibling/cousin/friend etc. on it. We're keen to explore offering a ‘re-embroidering’ service (if indeed that’s a word!)
And we're also conscious that we’re trying to establish ourselves in a very competitive market, with zero marketing, PR or advertising budget – so there is a certain need to ‘give the people what they want!’ and a lot of people love personalised items, especially for little ones 🙂
How long does delivery take?
If you order something that's in stock, we aim to dispatch UK orders within 24 to 48 hours, and they tend to take up to three working days.
Please let us know if you've left your order late, and we will see what we can do to help with a speedy delivery!
International orders involve queuing up at the post office, so they tend to take up to 48 hours to send out. We use Royal Mail International Tracked - see here for estimated delivery times.
Bespoke orders take approximately two months to be created and shipped from Bangladesh. We will provide a more specific timeframe as soon as we receive your order - but if you'd like this info before placing an order, please contact laura.rana@khusikantha.com for an estimate.
Do you offer free delivery?
Yes, we offer free delivery on all orders within the UK!
We charge delivery on international orders based on estimated costs - delivery cost will automatically be added at checkout, but please
contact us if you have any questions.
Got any more questions for us?
Please pop them in the comments and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!
